Hot Topics:

New laws set to kick in with new year

By Chris Camire, ccamire@lowellsun.com

Updated:
12/31/2012 08:08:18 AM EST

The legalization of medical marijuana tops a list of new laws set to take effect in Massachusetts in the new year.

In 2013, officials will also implement an expansion of marriage and family-therapy insurance coverage to state employees, set new standards for long-term care insurance, bring the state in line with the rest of the country on price-tag requirements, and navigate a law that will make auto-repair information more accessible.

Most eyes are focused on the state's first experiment with marijuana legalization. Massachusetts is now one of 18 states and the District of Columbia to have medical-marijuana programs for patients with chronic illnesses.

The law will take effect Tuesday, less than two months after 63 percent of voters supported a ballot question legalizing the drug for medicinal purposes.

The state Department of Public Health will then have 120 days to clarify how much marijuana patients will be eligible to receive and where 35 marijuana dispensaries, scheduled to open by the end of 2013, will be located.

The law is facing intense scrutiny, with some communities already moving to limit the sale of the drug.

Wakefield and Reading have approved a local ban on marijuana dispensaries. Other eastern Massachusetts communities, including Lowell, Framingham and Quincy, are also exploring restricting where the dispensaries can be located.

Advertisement

Voters also approved a ballot question in November that would force automobile manufacturers that sell cars in Massachusetts to provide access to their diagnostic and repair information to dealers and independent mechanics. The information would be made available through a universal software system.

Supporters of the measure say it will give consumers the convenience of being able to have their cars repaired at independent shops, rather than exclusively at a dealership.

Opponents argue that repair information is already readily available and that the law could force automakers to increase their prices.

Earlier this year, Gov. Deval Patrick signed off on a measure allowing merchants to install price scanners in grocery stores rather than placing individual price stickers on each item for sale.

When the law takes effect tomorrow, Massachusetts will become the last state to lift its price-tag requirement. The action was championed by retailers, who say it will keep costs down. Consumer advocates, meanwhile, cautioned that unreliable scanners could turn a food-shopping trip into a guessing game.

Another bill signed into law by Patrick in the final months of 2012 ensures the availability of long-term-care insurance policies to the elderly.

Proponents of the bill say it will protect some elderly patients who choose home care before going into a nursing home from losing their homes to the state to pay for long-term care.

"If you ask people how they are going to manage when they are older, most people say, 'The state is going to take care of me,'" said Sen. Harriette Chandler, D-Worcester, the bill's sponsor. "The state can't afford to do that."

Also taking effect in 2013 is a law that adds licensed marriage and family therapists to the list of reimbursable mental-health professionals whose services are covered under the insurance plan used by state workers. Currently, marriage and family therapists are not covered under state employee plans.

Massachusetts will also continue to implement legislation that calls for three resort-style casinos and one slots parlor in the state.

A five-person commission charged with overseeing expanded gaming in Massachusetts has fielded applications from casino developers in western Massachusetts, Boston and southeastern Massachusetts, where the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe is guaranteed the right to have the first shot at developing a casino.

State officials will also continue to navigate a first-in-the-nation law, signed by Patrick in August, designed to control health-care costs.

The bill is intended to save up to $200 billion in health-care costs over the next 15 years by moving the state toward a payment system in which doctors receive an annual budget for each patient's care, known as a "global payment system," rather than having them charge a fee for each service or test provided.

Like the 2006 universal-access law, it could be years before its changes are fully implemented and its impacts known.

While the law's critics say it represents a thicket of government regulation and mandates, supporters say its focus on the health of patients, new care-delivery and payment models, and cost control will yield major financial savings.

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sun. So keep it civil.

ODESSA, Texas (AP) — A West Texas man has been charged with impersonating an officer by using sirens and flashing lights to skip to the head of the drive-thru line at a fast-food restaurant. Full Story

Sufjan Stevens, "Carrie & Lowell" (Asthmatic Kitty) Plucked strings and pulsing keyboards dominate the distinctive arrangements on Sufjan Stevens' latest album, and in the absence of a rhythm section, they serve to keep time. Full Story